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<\/p>\nDevelopment and flight qualification for United Launch Alliance\u2019s new rocket, Vulcan, remains on track and on schedule (with margin) to make its debut flights next year, as do all ground support facilities and flight software elements for the heavy-lift vehicle.<\/p>\n
Vulcan\u2019s first two flights, certification missions to clear the rocket to fly category A\/B national security payloads for the U.S. Space Force, will loft Astrobotic\u2019s Peregrine Lander outward to the Moon and then Sierra Nevada\u2019s Dream Chaser spacecraft on its demonstration mission for NASA to become the third U.S. cargo vehicle for Station operations.<\/p>\n
Ground elements:<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s coming up on six years since we really started full-scale development,\u201d said Mark Peller, VP of Major Development for ULA in a one-on-one interview with NASASpaceflight. \u201cWe\u2019re a year and a half past [Critical Design Review]. So we\u2019ve gone through all the design and analysis phase of the program, and now we\u2019re in the process of going the other way and building hardware and going through all the tests and verification as we head toward first flight next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
But a significant part of that buildup is not taking place at the Decatur, Alabama, facility \u2014 where Vulcan is being primarily constructed \u2014 but rather down at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida where launch facilities are being prepared for the vehicle.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the modifications that we\u2019re making there on the east coast are back compatible to Atlas, so we can launch a Vulcan and literally within a day we can reconfigure and start processing an Atlas or vice versa,\u201d said Mr. Peller.<\/p>\n
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An artist\u2019s concept of Vulcan lifting off from SLC-41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL. (Credit: ULA)<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the key elements of the architecture on the east coast is the Mobile Launch Platform. We decided to build a new one dedicated just to Vulcan that would really support parallel operations and could be designed really without compromise to support the Vulcan rocket.\u201d<\/p>\n
The primary element of the Mobile Launch Platform was completed last year and has been undergoing outfitting operations for its fuel, pneumatic, electrical, and hold down elements that will support and interface with Vulcan.<\/p>\n
Aerospace industry analysis (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re nearing completion,\u201d noted Mr. Peller. \u201cLater this year, we\u2019re going to take it out to the launch pad and hook it up to all the ground systems. And we\u2019ll do cryo flow and pneumatic testing. And all of that is in preparation for when we do that with a vehicle on top of it.\u201d<\/p>\n At SLC-41, work to upgrade the pad to add Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG; in this case, liquid methane) storage and distribution capabilities as well as increase the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen commodities at the pad has also gone well. <\/p>\n Some of that work (pneumatics, sound suppression, additional liquid hydrogen\/liquid oxygen tanks) is complete and has already been used successfully on Atlas V missions. The remaining Vulcan-specific work (LNG tanks and distribution) is on track for completion this autumn ahead of Mobile Launch Platform verification and validation testing.<\/p>\n However, while SLC-41 can support dual use and overlap between Atlas V and Vulcan, the same cannot be done for the west coast facility of SLC-3E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. <\/p>\n The ability to co-fly Atlas V and Vulcan from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral is due to the Mobile Launch Platform design of the pad, allowing the two vehicles to share certain commodities while each having their own launch platforms sized for their individual needs. <\/p>\n An Atlas V lifts off from the Fixed Launch Platform at SLC-3E at Vandenberg Air Force Base on the NROL-79 mission. (Credit: ULA)<\/p>\n SLC-3E at Vandenberg employs a Fixed Launch Platform and therefore cannot be modified in a way that would allow Atlas V and Vulcan to overlap in California.<\/p>\n \u201cThe infrastructure there is different, so it has led to a different approach to how we conduct the modifications,\u201d noted Mr. Peller. \u201cThe long and short of it is that we have elected to do a hard cut over. So we will start the modifications and start putting the capabilities in place for Vulcan [as Atlas keeps flying], but we will get to a point where we will just need to make a hard cut over.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Some of the work that can be done in parallel with Atlas V operations from Vandenberg, which will continue into 2022, include installation of the new LNG tanks and distribution system as well as upgrading the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen commodities to support the larger Centaur V upper stage of the Vulcan compared to the Common Centaur (Centaur III) used by Atlas V.<\/p>\n Modifications to the mobile servicing tower can also be made at SLC-3E, but it will ultimately come down to the launch stand for when the hard cut over will need to occur.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause we don\u2019t use a Mobile Launch Platform but a Fixed Launch Platform, we will build that up offline or in pieces and then at the point that we make the hard cut over we will install the Fixed Launch Platform that will be developed exclusively for Vulcan,\u201d said Mr. Peller.<\/p>\n Vulcan\u2019s west coast debut is anticipated in 2023.<\/p>\n The hard cut over between Atlas V and Vulcan \u2014 and the need to take SLC-3E offline to make the final change \u2014 is made possible due to the low flight rate demand for missions that have to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/26230943938_c622ab753b_k.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSee Also<\/h4>\n
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